A fire has been brought under control on a handysize bulker off Indonesia.
The blaze broke out in the engine room of the 30,600-dwt Samudra Sakti III (built 2006) in waters off Lampung on Sunday morning, TV One reported.
Of the crew of 26, 19 seafarers were evacuated by local authorities.
The Indonesia-flag vessel had arrived from Singapore and was about to depart for the Riau Islands.
Video footage showed black smoke rising from the stern as two tugs sprayed water onto the superstructure.
Deden Ridwansyah, head of the Lampung division of the national search and rescue agency Basarnas, told reporters his workers arrived 25 minutes after receiving a report of the fire.
“Of the total 26 passengers on the ship, we evacuated 19 passengers to be taken to Bukit Asam beach,” he added.
The cause of the blaze is being investigated.
TV One said an electrical short circuit in the engine room was a possible cause.
Deden said the vessel had been waiting to carry cargo from Panjang Harbour in Bandar Lampung.
Russian detention
The bulker is owned by domestic operator Lintas Maritim Indonesia with insurance cover provided by the Shipowners’ Club.
The Samudra Sakti III was detained in Russia in 2019 after failing a port state control safety inspection.
Inspectors found 36 deficiencies, but the only grounds for the detention were problems with fire dampers.
